They provide many of the same channels as your satellite or local cable provider.

They provide the same features — live-viewing, DVR, etc. — as satellite and cable.

They cost $20 to $35 a month — about one-third to one-half the cost of satellite and cable.

They don’t require contracts, and you can cancel them online, i.e., without having to call customer service.

They’re available for tablets, smartphones, smart TVs and streaming devices on a single app vs. the numerous apps that satellite and cable subscribers are always having to log back into.

The biggest knock — and, frankly, the only knock — I have against skinny-bundle services is that none of them have all the broadcast and cable channels that I want to watch. The forthcoming YouTube TV, announced earlier this week, is a good example. It will be the first of the skinny-bundle services to include all of the major broadcast networks — ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS and The CW — but the cable lineup has a lot of glaring omissions. YouTube TV (at least at launch) will not include TBS, TNT, CNN, HGTV, Discovery, History or AMC.

Photo: YouTube

The other services have their own blind spots. Sling TV has two different plans with some channels that overlap and some that don’t, and neither plan includes ABC. PlayStation Vue doesn’t include any of the Viacom networks (MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon). And none of those services include CBS or The CW, though you can subscribe to CBS All Access for only $6 a month and The CW’s app for free.

The skinny-bundle services differ enough from each other that you need a chart to figure out which ones include your must-have channels. Decider has such a chart, of course, but you may not like the choices you see. Since most viewers regularly watch a dozen or so different channels — more if you have kids — there may not be a service that has all of your deal-breakers channels. You can improve your options by adding a digital antenna and/or other streaming services into the mix, but antennas aren’t portable and additional services will add to your monthly cost.

The best way to approach the different plans is to start with what kinds of programming you like to watch:

Mostly Broadcast. If you primarily watch the major broadcast networks, your best bet will either be (1) YouTube TV, which is the only service with all four of those networks, or (2) a combination of Hulu, which includes most ABC, NBC and FOX shows, plus CBS All Access. YouTube TV has not yet provided detailed information about what shows will be available on demand, how many episodes, etc., but the announcement said the service will include unlimited DVR recording. YouTube will also be the only services that carries The CW, but that’s only a plus for live programming since The CW is also available on its own free app.If you don’t watch much live programming, subscribing to both Hulu and CBS All Access is the way to go. The combined cost of the two services — $14 for ad-supported or $22 for ad-free — is quite a bit cheaper than YouTube TV ($35) and includes premium shows like Hulu’s The Path and CBS All Access’s The Good Fight that are exclusive to those services.

Mostly Sports. There’s live sports programming on all four of the major broadcast networks plus ESPN, ESPN2, FS1, FS2 and a long list of regional sports networks. YouTube TV has all of that covered and is far and away the best best for sports fans with the exception of the Road to the Final Four games that will air on Turner’s TBS, TNT and truTV. Maybe YouTube and Turner will work something out by then, but your best bet would be to stick with what you have now until after the NCAA Tournament is over.But YouTube TV isn’t the only option. CBS Sports has generally made its NCAA college football and basketball games available on the CBS Sports app without a login and added NFL games to that midway through this past season. If the only thing you watch on CBS is live sports or if you’re already subscribing to CBS All Access, then you should consider PlayStation Vue or DirecTV Now. For Sling TV, the combined $40 plan is the best option; it lacks ABC, but most of ABC’s sports programming is available on the WatchESPN app.

I Want My MTV. If you watch a lot of shows on specific cable channels like MTV, Comedy Central, Bravo, etc., there’s really no rhyme or reason beyond corporate ownership to which services include the networks you want. Sling TV, Playstation Vue and DirecTV Now all include certain networks or combinations of networks that would give one of them the edge depending on a particular viewer’s interests. Generally speaking, DirecTV Now’s $35 plan is the most comprehensive of the skinny-bundle streaming services.

I Want Everything. You’re not going to get everything for $35. PlayStation Vue and DirecTV Now have higher-tier plans, but adding those additional channels undercuts the cost savings of going to a skinny-bundle plan. And you may not actually need all the channels you think you need. Most current cable shows eventually pop up on Netflix, Amazon or Hulu, and you can subscribe to sites like GoWatchIt.com to let you know when they’re available.

Live a Little. In a year when as many as 500 original scripted TV shows will premiere, maybe it’s time you start thinking of TV less like music (every song on one service) and more like movies (you can’t watch them all so just get Netflix). Instead of looking for a service that has CBS, TBS and 10 other channels that you think you can’t live without, just pick a service, find some new shows — or old shows — and start watching. The days when one-third of the country watched Seinfeld are long gone. Experiment. Add Hulu or Seeso for a month. Sign up for Showtime, watch every episode of Homeland, and then cancel next month. You be you.

All of the skinny-bundle services have introductory periods of a week or more, which is plenty of time try them out on Roku or Apple TV or whatever other platforms you use, without having to quit your Comcast or Dish Network service cold turkey. And if a week isn’t enough, pay for a month. Or two months. The TV business has shifted pretty dramatically over the last few years from a lock-in model with cable box, contract, etc., to one that lets you choose your own adventure.

So, you know, choose.

Scott Porch writes about the streaming-media industry for Decider and is also a contributing writer for Playboy. You can follow him on Twitter @ScottPorch.